Gem-A Announces New Council Members

Gem-A, the Gemmological Association of Great Britain, has elected nine new members—seven from the United Kingdom and two from the United States.

Miranda Wells, Mary Burland, and Nigel Israel will maintain their seats on the council.

The newly elected officers are Kathryn Bonanno, former vice president of the American Gemologists Assocation; Justine Carmody, Stephen Webster production and development director; Paul Greer, Bentley & Skinner managing director; Kerry Gregory, H&T Group gemologist; Alan Hart, head of Earth Sciences collections at London’s Natural History Museum; Alan Hodgkinson, president of the Scottish Gemmological Association; Dr. Jack Ogden, former CIBJO secretary general; Richard Slater, jewelry appraiser and managing director of Espri Limited; and Christopher P. Smith, president of the American Gemological Laboratories.

“Members of the council will now work together to form a plan for the future of the Association, in the light of the events of recent months,” said a statement included with the election results.

In July, chairman Nigel Israel announced that the organization would replace former CEO James Riley after the election. Riley was suspended in June and then dismissed for misusing company funds.